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3Rs Program

Program Summary

The 3Rs: Rights, Responsibilities, Realities

The 3Rs Program is a partnership between the Grand Rapids Bar Association and the Grand Rapids Public Schools. It calls upon team of volunteers to go to social studies classrooms for eight separate sessions between October and May of each school year to work with small groups of students to accomplish the following goals:

Improve understanding of and respect for the rule of law and our Constitution

Increase interest in civic and governmental issues

Provide practical career counseling to focus students on their potential beyond high school

Improve the "pipeline" of minorities flowing into legal careers in the region

3Rs program volunteers from the Grand Rapids legal community visit 9th grade social studies classes throughout the school year. The program, funded by the Grand Rapids Managing Partners’ Diversity Collaborative, is based upon the award-winning model put forward by the Cleveland Bar Association.

What We Do

The 2017-2018 academic year will be the fifth program for The 3Rs in Grand Rapids, and will focus on Ottawa Hills High School. Roughly once a month, from October to May, in coordination with school programming, a team of five lawyers will enter each 9th Grade social studies class for one 55-minute class period. Each class will be divided into subgroups of 4-5 students, each led by a lawyer/law student team member who will apply a curriculum based upon the one developed by the Cleveland Bar Association. Students’ work in the 3Rs program will count to their final grade, and the participating attorneys/law students will have a voice in that grade. Our goal is to expand the program into every 9th Grade Social Studies class in the Grand Rapids Public School System in the academic year future.

Your Commitment

We estimate that the commitment of an average team member would be approximately two to three hours per month for a period of nine months. That commitment will begin at the September orientation. In October, you will enter the school for a 55-minute class roughly once a month and your commitment will consist of preparation, travel to Ottawa Hills High School, and the class period. Also, you will shoulder an ongoing commitment to mentor any students with whom you form a connection, which will continue through their high school education and beyond.

Interested?

We are still looking for area legal professionals and students, attending law school, who are interested in making a difference. If you are interested in volunteering in, please contact

kenneth@grbar.org. You may complete an attorney faculty application, by clicking here. Law students may complete a student faculty application, by clicking here.

Attend an Orientation and Cultural Competency Training

Each respective orientation and cultural competency training session contains identical content. In order to accommodate the busy schedules of our volunteers, we have elected to conduct multiple training at varying times.